Church youth counselor accused of child rape is freed on bail

A youth counselor for a Baptist church that closed its doors in Quincy is free on bail after pleading innocent to raping a 14-year-old girl who was in his Bible study class.

Robert J. Morris Jr., 28, pleaded innocent at his Quincy District Court arraignment on Monday. He is charged with three counts of statutory rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

Morris, of 141 Commercial St., Braintree, was released on $3,000 bail and scheduled to return to court March 23.

He is accused of assaulting and having sex with the 14-year-old in January and November 2005 at the youth center of the former Adams Shore Bible Baptist Church. The center was in the basement of a building on Hancock Street in Wollaston.

The Adams Shore church no longer exists, but a judge ordered that Morris have no contact with children who are younger than 18 and are members of the church, except for family members. Morris is also forbidden from having contact with the alleged victim.

The Adams Shore church was started in 1994 by the Rev. Michael L. Cox. It merged with Tri-Town Baptist Church in Hull in 2004. After the merger, Morris continued to run a program for youths in the basement of the building on Hancock Street.

Tri-Town Baptist merged with Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holbrook last month, and the Rev. Cox became assistant pastor. Morris is not a youth counselor for the Holbrook church, nor does he have any ties to it, the Rev. Cox said.

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